Someone had whammed the guard rail!  A sign had been put up “Damaged Guardrail.”  When installed it was shiny, sturdy, and solid, but now it is messy, marred, and mangled.    I wonder who hit the guard rail and why.  Was it caused by an out of control car that had a blowout?  Was it a mother who was passing goldfish to the toddler in a car-seat?  Was it a tipsy driver who drove in spite of laws against drunk driving?  Was it a new driver who had just taken a driver’s ed course and knew all the rules but lacked the experience?  Or was it the fault of the guardrail itself, maybe it reflected the glare of the sun at just the wrong time?  Or had the hail and rain been so blinding, the driver couldn’t see?

Seems like society’s guardrails work about the same way.  Parents are charged with being “first responders,” in the guardrail brigade.  So out come the plugs for electrical switches, fences, and car seats.  Deut. 22:8 is apropos, “When you build a new house, make a parapet (rail) around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”  But how far does that go, when a child deliberately jumps over the rail?  How does the church work out as a guardrail? Love, fellowship, respect and fun is great.  But when they start talking about discipline, holiness, and clean living – all that guardrails stuff – most studies show that more than half of the youth drop out when they age out.  So what about the government?  So here come the laws, surely they are good guardrails.  Oh, yes, good if people obey them.  But if they don’t (like in Prohibition, drugs, adultery, etc.) you do away with the law.  No law, no law breakers, no guardrails. How are society’s guardrails looking?  Weak and wobbly.  One guardrail still stands—God’s word.  Oh it is smashed, bashed, and trashed, but standing firm, steady and dependable.  Prov. 18:10  “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous man runs into it and is safe”

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I blogged this four years ago. I think it is even more needed now than then. We have completely taken down so many boundaries that kept our children and young people safe a few decades ago. Examples: Legalizing marijuana, giving dope to addicts, teaching that many perverted sexual experiences are normal, handouts for those who will not work, turning a blind eye to corruption, parents afraid to discipline their children. The Word of God still stands as the only safe Guardrail.